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Small Scale Model Railroads by S Blackwell Duncan Soft Cover 1991 FIRST printing
Small Scale Model Railroads by S Blackwell Duncan Soft Cover 1991 FIRST printing 206 pages indexed
There has been a widespread fascination with railroads and railroading in this country almost since the first rails were laid. Railroads are inextricably entwined in the mesh of our national history. They have been a source of wealth and power for a few, a pitfall of greed and corruption for others. They have provided a livelihood for hundreds of workers, transportation for thousands of travelers, a network of social and commercial intercourse for a multitude of communities, and a source of wonder or awe or excitement (or all three) for countless youngsters. Trains are a part of us and have been for generations and are an integral element of our heritage and culture.
Not surprising, then, is the fact that toy trains appeared on the scene not long after the real ones did. Nor is it remarkable that the construction of miniature railroads built to scale also began to appear not long after the toys did. What is notable is the steadily growing popularity of model railroading as a hobby over the past 60 or so years, and the size of the support industry that has grown up around it. Today, model railroading as a hobby is enjoying rapidly increasing recognition and participation. It has been estimated that for every thousand people in this country, there is at least one model railroader. That amounts to about a quarter-million folks actively engaged in a pastime that is every bit as fascinating as the real thing-quite possibly more so. And there is probably a greater number than that involved in one way or another.
Model railroading can be a one-person, multiperson, or family hobby, and is wide open to all kinds of interpretations. It is many-faceted; there is an interest area for everyone, and often more than one. This hobby should not be confused with that of just putting together models. Models, except for the self-propelled, radio-controlled varieties, are assembled and set on a shelf as a static collection of nonintegrated and often unrelated objects. Model railroading, however, involves a unified, coordinated system of models that emulates, however loosely, a real railroad in a real setting. Probably the closet comparison to a model railroad is a diorama, a cased scenic representation complete with blended-in background, of the sort found in museums. However, dioramas are almost always inanimate and lifeless.
Model railroads, even incomplete ones, never are static; they are dynamic. Locomotives and cars move along the rails. Signal lights flash, semaphore arms wag, figures can be animated. Smoke plumes from steam engines and factory stacks. Crossing gates lower and bells clang. Lights turn on and off in houses and stores. Mournful steamer 'whistles or raucous diesel engine air horns sound their calls. Locomotives rumble or roar or clank or chug, freight car wheels clickety-clack on the rails. Smells of roasting coffee beans, fresh sawdust from a mill, cannery or stockyard effluvia, or a dozen other aromas can be generated to add to the realism. Sounds of heavy highway traffic, barking dogs, or a cheering football crowd can be programmed in. And with the miracle of video technology, you can even sit in the cab of your locomotive and watch on a screen as your own trackage and scenery unfolds before you, as it actually exists, while you thunder down the tangent. With a bit of imagination and concentration, you can project yourself in miniature right into the cab, Casey Jones at the throttle, an engineer in your own tiny railscape. It's a remarkable sensation.
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